The "Elvis" Cast on the "Intimidating" Task of Portraying Cultural Figures

Singer-songwriter Yola was an early casting for "Elvis," taking on the role of gospel artist and rock 'n' roll pioneer Sister Rosetta Tharpe. She was originally set to just help out on the film's soundtrack, but Luhrmann had bigger plans for her.

"[Baz] saw something, and he was like, 'You have a thing with acting.' I'm like, 'Oh, I did used to do this sample replay job' — where I had to take samples that will go to DJs and producers who want to cut a little bit. They need the energy [from an artist], not just the note perfectness, so you had to act to get the energy right, too. So, weirdly, I'd done the thing that I need to do to get the role, but had no idea that I'd done that. It was hard work."